ALJI Featured in the Edmonton Journal

October 14, 2026

Will van Engen of Alberta Lawyers for Judicial Independence (ALJI) spoke to the Edmonton Journal about the appointment of Justice Malcolm Lavoie to the Court of King’s Bench and Justice Thomas Rothwell to the Court of Appeal.

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/alberta-referendum-question-6-malcolm-lavoie-judge-danielle-smith

While the UCP government had publicly taken some credit for the appointments — suggesting they were the result of collaborative discussions with the federal government — federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser’s press secretary said that the “established federal judicial appointments process” was followed for both appointments.

“[Justices Rothwell and Lavoie] are both eminently qualified and were recommended through the non-partisan Judicial Advisory Committee process,” Will van Engen said in an email. “The comments of Premier Smith and Minister Amery suggest that these appointments are somehow unique and that there has been unprecedented collaboration between the federal and provincial governments.”

This does not appear to be the case, he said.

“The Judicial Advisory Committee has always provided the provincial government with a seat at the table, along with representatives from the court, the Law Society, the Canadian Bar Association, and the federal government.”